Are "nature" schools possible in the city?
More than 80% of the French population lives in urban areas, and so do the vast majority of schools. How, then, can we ensure that most students have access to these outdoor classrooms that are increasingly being discussed? Can learning in nature truly become the educational revolution of the 21st century?
Sylvain Wagnon, University of Montpellier
This article was co-authored with Corine Martel, an educational consultant and director of the EducNatu’re center in Restinclières, as well as a lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Montpellier.
First, let’s remember that while the term “nature” typically evokes a place where greenery outweighs concrete, it’s also important to pay attention to the small green spaces and parks found in the city. We must not forget that beneath the asphalt lies the earth.
Despite urban densification, nature is all around us, all the time—whether in parks, community gardens, trees lining a street or planted on rooftops, and even in the sky, where an invisible biodiversity thrives (bacteria, fungi, and yeasts carried by water droplets). The current policy of greening urban spaces opens up new opportunities for teachers.
With the proliferation of strategic projects labeled “nature city,” “green city, ” or “green and blue infrastructure, ” the goal is to build a more resilient city and mitigate the effects of global warming. In urban areas, this translates to reducing urban heat islands through initiatives such as tree planting and the installation of green roofs. All of these elements serve as catalysts and resources for outdoor learning in the city.
Outdoor learning in the city: a real need
The enthusiasm for outdoor learning cannot be attributed solely to the health crisis and lockdown we have experienced; learning in and with nature is both a necessity and a fundamental need. Indeed, beyond the concept of “nature deficit disorder,” studies clearly demonstrate the benefits of nature for mental well-being, overall health, and creativity—fundamental elements for an education that is harmonious and respectful of the needs and biological rhythms of children and adolescents.
Urban densification has clearly weakened the connection between people and their surroundings. Combined with an increasingly sedentary lifestyle—which confines children to cramped spaces—this trend has only widened the gap between young children and nature, even as they long to move around, run, and enjoy recreational spaces.
In most subjects, curricula emphasize—particularly through environmental education—an understanding of the connections between humans and nature. Marie Jacqué highlights the importance of teachers’ diverse conceptions of nature. Indeed, this may involve the idea of a nature without the human species: a nature to be respected and preserved for its own sake. From this perspective, a sensitive approach to nature is prioritized.
But nature can also be viewed as an ecosystem to be understood in terms of the relationships between living things. This approach effectively promotes cooperative teaching methods, peer interaction, and mutual support.
In any case, teachers who practice this “outdoor school” approach in urban areas choose to ground their lessons as closely as possible in reality, so that their students can make on-site observations that will serve as a foundation for classroom learning. For, paradoxically, the impact of human development can reveal biodiversity consisting of refuges for certain animal and plant species following the destruction of natural habitats. This is how projects that support biodiversity can be developed in the city, such as Educational Land Areas or the ABCs of Biodiversity, as well as the E3D certification for schools and educational institutions.
This shift is not limited to the classroom; it also extends to after-school activities, with the creation of adventure playgrounds—educational spaces that allow children to engage with the natural environment.
Walking and Greening Class
The walking class is one of the most iconic and fundamental activities of outdoor education. It is part of French educational history and a hallmark of a vibrant school. In the early20th century, educators Élise and Célestin Freinet revived this activity, making it a hallmark of their pedagogy by giving it a multidisciplinary focus and allowing children to truly take charge of their own learning. This walk provides an opportunity to develop children’s environmental awareness and encourage direct interaction with nature. For the Freinets, this activity served as a catalyst for radically transforming teaching methods and learning processes by fostering mutual aid, sharing, and cooperation among children.
Today, it can serve as a tool for developing this “school with nature in the city.” While administrative requirements can sometimes make it difficult for a class to go outside, the goal is not to go far away, but rather to observe the immediate surroundings, where nature is present in all its forms.
The current trend toward greening school playgrounds offers an opportunity to expand outdoor learning right within school grounds. The benefits extend beyond simply creating flexible learning environments; they also involve developing spaces that are more resilient to climate change. This approach also helps mitigate flood risks in certain cities and creates corridors for wildlife migration.
Transitioning from a paved playground to a naturalized one—bringing nature into the schoolyard—presents an opportunity to rethink teaching practices by creating a vegetable garden or a flower garden, and by implementing subject-specific or interdisciplinary projects at all levels of elementary and secondary education. Easy access and the absence of specific administrative requirements are all ways to transform these green spaces into hubs for learning, offering time for reading, math, or simply relaxing in nature during lunch breaks.
Transforming the way you teach requires a fundamental rethinking of what you want to do and what you are capable of doing. It is a Velvet Revolution in the sense that, ultimately, these changes do not represent a break with his previous teaching but rather a fluid and complementary process.
Sylvain Wagnon, Professor of Education, Faculty of Education, University of Montpellier
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Readthe original article.